Wech Baghtu wedding party airstrike
The Wech Baghtu wedding party airstrike refers to the killing of about 37 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, and injuring about 2 others by a United States military airstrike on 3 November 2008. The group was celebrating a wedding at a housing complex in the village of Wech Baghtu, a Taliban stronghold in the Shah Wali Kot District of Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
The Afghan government accused the Taliban of seeking shelter near the wedding party. On 7 November 2008, Afghan officials said a joint investigation found that 37 civilians and 26 insurgents were killed in Wech Baghtu. Wedding parties in Afghanistan are segregated by sex; of the civilians, 23 were children, 10 were women, and 4 were men. Another 27 persons were injured, including the bride. The bombing destroyed the housing complex where women and children had gathered to celebrate.
On 5 November 2008, Afghan President Hamid Karzai responded by demanding that newly elected US President Barack Obama end civilian deaths, stating "Our demand is that there will be no civilian casualties in Afghanistan. We cannot win the fight against terrorism with airstrikes — this is my first demand of the new president of the United States — to put an end to civilian casualties."
